I strolled into Annie’s kitchen, my head still hurting from the blur of last night.
She was already at the counter, flipping pancakes with a big grin that only increased when she got sight of me. Her eyes narrowed with mischief, obviously realizing I had a story to tell.
“So…” she began, tilting her head in a way that made it apparent she wasn’t allowing me out of this. “Ready to spill, or are you going to keep me guessing?”
I let out a deep sigh, collapsing onto one of the stools and grasping the mug of coffee she offered me. The recollection of waking up next to Tyler made my cheeks flush, the mixture of emotions boiling just beneath the surface... anger, nostalgia, a weird comfort I’d forgotten he could provide.
“It was him,” I murmured finally, the words sliding off my lips, feeling both bitter and somehow liberated. “The guy from last night was Tyler.”
Annie’s spatula landed with a crash. She gazed at me, blinking like she wasn’t sure if she’d heard me right.
“Tyler?” she muttered, eyes widening with a mix of shock and excitement. “As in your Tyler?”
“Ex-Tyler,” I corrected, grasping my coffee cup. But she was already beaming, way too thrilled about this.
“Oh, this is juicy,” she murmured, settling onto the bench beside me. “What are the odds? You leave London to get away from love disasters, and boom… you run directly into your history. This has to imply something, Sam.”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew that expression. Once Annie’s mind got set, there was no stopping her.
“It means absolutely nothing. It was a mistake, okay? One that I’m regretting more and more by the second.”
She leaned back, crossed her arms. “A mistake? Or maybe fate prodding you a little. Did you realize he’s been inquiring about you since you left?”
My brows knitted together as I looked up. “What are you talking about?”
She tapped the counter, her face softening.
“He’s been calling me every so often since you left, checking in, asking if you were okay, if you’d settled in London. He asked me to tell you he was sorry… that he realized what he’d lost.”
I glanced down at my coffee, feeling that old twinge of hurt and irritation prickling at the boundaries of my heart. Tyler and I had spent years constructing a life together, and in the end, he’d let it all fall apart. That pain still persisted, the weight of betrayal cutting deeper than I wanted to admit, even to myself.
“People say things when they feel guilty,” I murmured, attempting to brush aside the sliver of hope her words had unearthed. “Doesn’t mean he’s changed.”
Annie sighed, reaching across to grasp my hand. “Maybe. But Sam, maybe it also indicates he’s grown up. People do change, especially after they lose someone who mattered.”
I shook my head, trying to ignore the old, deadly impulses stirring inside me. “He broke my heart, Annie. More than once. I don’t know if I can go through that again. And after everything… after Caleb…” I trailed off, my voice trembling. The thought of opening myself up to that type of hurt all over again sent a chill through me.
“Sam,” she continued gently, “I get it. I watched how badly he wounded you, and I know you’re frightened of that happening again. But maybe this time, it’s different. Look, I don’t want to push you, but… I don’t think you’re done with him yet. And it seems like he isn’t done with you either.”
The thought of giving Tyler another chance twists my stomach into knots. Yes, I miss him. Yes, he still occupies a part of my heart that I’d foolishly imagined was dedicated for him forever.
But I’m not the same person he knew. I’ve changed, too.
My guard is up. I’ve gone through too much, endured too many disappointments, and I’m not sure I’m ready to let him back in, to open myself up to the potential of more heartbreak.
Annie’s gaze softens, understanding visible in her eyes.
“I’m not saying you should jump back into anything. But what if you just give him a chance to explain? It doesn’t have to be anything more than just a discussion. Just… hear him out, okay?” she says, her voice calm and convincing.
I nibbled on her words, caught between wanting to shut this conversation down and feeling a peculiar interest. Tyler had been my world once, and even though I’d tried to let him go, some part of me still hung onto the “what ifs” like a tattered ribbon.
“Did he really… I mean, when he talked to you, did he sound serious?” I couldn’t believe I was even asking, but the words tumbled out before I could stop them.
Annie’s eyes softened, her look both empathetic and full of hope. “He did. He sounded… strange, Sam. Honestly, I’d never heard him sound that broken. It was like he finally recognized what he’d given up.”
I took a hesitant breath, felt my determination slip a fraction. Tyler had always been suave, polished with his words, but had he ever exhibited guilt like this before? Not that I’d ever seen.
But it didn’t erase anything, I reminded myself, attempting to hold to my sanity. “I don’t know if I’m ready to trust him again. It’s not like he can just come back into my life and fix all that damage.”
Annie flashed me a sorrowful grin, but there was a spark of resolve in her eyes. “I know. And you don’t have to trust him straight immediately. But maybe… maybe you give him a chance to show he’s changed. To prove he’s sorry, not only with words, but with actions.”
She let the words hang in the air, a delicate invitation rather than a demand. And somehow, that tenderness made it harder to shake off.
The memories of last night, of seeing him again after all this time, replayed in my head with stunning clarity. The way he looked at me.. full of sorrow, vulnerability, and something else I couldn’t quite define.
I took a calm, steadying breath, trying to think clearly, but it was no use. My heart was broken, and as much as I wanted to deny it, the old sensations had seeped back in, unrelenting and irrefutable.
“Fine,” I mumbled finally, receiving a satisfied look from Annie. “I’ll… talk to him. But I’m not making any promises, and I’m certainly not going back to the way things were. Not unless I’m positive it’s different this time.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Annie’s eyes gleamed with delight as she hugged me. “Just give yourself a chance, Sam. Let him prove you he’s serious.”
There was a weight in my gut, a mix of exhilaration and fear at the notion of confronting Tyler again. But as Annie’s embrace persisted, I couldn’t deny the joy that boiled through me.
It had been so long since I’d felt that spark with someone, the flutter of possibility that only Tyler had ever ignited in me.
And yet, even as I allowed the optimism develop, I knew I needed to be cautious, to shield my heart from the misery that had nearly destroyed me before.